Show Review: Loose Buttons

This Wednesday, we set out to New York’s Pianos bar to tune into one of their February residents, Loose Buttons. We recently interviewed the New York-based band, and were thrilled to hear them play what they had talked about on their upcoming EP, Sundays.

The venue is a unique little spot on the Lower East Side, and from the outside you would never guess that it houses music every night. Loose Buttons got their own room–a quaint place at first glance, but the band filled it up with friends, family, bosses, and new fans in no time. I ended up next to two of the latter by the end of the night, and both had nothing but good things to say about the band. What seemed to be the highlight was certainly drummer Adam Holtzberg. I was also blown away by the guitar movements, and the way the Loose Buttons guys jam together so well. They really have a feel for their sound and just how each one of them can bring out the best in each song. It was quite clear that they love what they do, ending almost every song with their own personal jam session. They create a sort of musical montage with each track, making it easy for the crowd to get lost in the music and, quite literally, dance along.

One of my favorite songs of the night was “Two Wolves.” While it is a good track recorded, hearing it live provided a whole different experience for me. There was life in the guitars and the beat was amped up tenfold, making it that much more contagious.

The crowd really enjoyed “Am I the Only Reason?,” though honestly not to anyone’s surprise. The song is the latest single from Loose Buttons, and a heartfelt one at that. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good performance–you always want to hear the popular ones at a live show.

Loose Buttons really brought their all to their residency. They were excited to be there, and even though the crowd was small they fed off of that excitement, making the night as fun and enlightening (from a fairly new listener’s perspective) as it was. They have one more week at Pianos, so if you’re in the city, definitely check them out. Look for more from Loose Buttons next week with the release of Sundays.